Newly issued guidelines from Montgomery County Public Schools make progress in recognizing the editorial independence of student media, but advocates argue the district still falls critically short of complying with the Maryland New Voices law.
Four journalism students from across the country described facing censorship, arrest and harassment for covering their schools’ most pressing issues during a Sept. 30 celebration of student reporting at UC Berkeley Journalism. The event, hosted by the Student Press Law Center and moderated by NBC News White House correspondent Yamiche Alcindor, highlighted the tenacity of… Continue reading SPLC, UC Berkeley event celebrates student journalists
Current and former students suing the Lawrence, Kansas, school district over its use of AI surveillance tools saw a big victory this summer when a federal judge ordered the district to pay more than $113,000 in the students’ legal fees for violating the Kansas Open Records Act.
Educator Sara Bauknecht writes that, this time around, professional newsrooms should avoid assuming that today’s college students and recent grads are AI experts here to save the day. She offers some ways professional and student journalists can work together and help each other explore AI’s possibilities and potential pitfalls.
Mike Canan, who served as the Senior Director of Journalism Strategies for the Scripps Howard Fund/Foundation, writes that investing in today’s college journalism students prepares the storytellers, innovators and leaders of tomorrow.
This is not the first time Trump has tried to punish journalists for coverage he didn’t like. The pattern, however, continues to set an anti-press tone across the nation, and student journalists are among those who feel it most.
Four college journalists speak out on the importance of standing up to administrators
Twenty-five high school students from 15 states logged into the Student Press Law Center’s New Voices Student Leaders Institute this summer expecting to learn about press freedom, but they say they took away so much more. After two weeks of training and collaborating with their peers, they’re now equipped with the leadership skills, advocacy strategies and confidence to lead campaigns for press freedom in their states and communities.
Myesha Phukan, a 2023 institute alumna and now an SPLC advocacy intern, helped co-facilitate the 2026 institute. She shares her experiences working with students who are following in her advocacy footsteps.
Emma Alves is a junior at John Burroughs High School in California. She shares her experiences at the 2026 Institute and what comes next for her advocacy.
